Piled-up import containers congest Ctg port

Despite observing an eight-hour closure in the whole Eid-ul-Azha holidays, Chattogram port was hit by a stockpile of import containers, as very few businesses show up to take delivery of the containers in the last one week.

The operational activities of the port start feeling the pinch when 80 per cent of its storage capacity gets occupied and this is actually what happened to the Chattogram port this time, port officials and users said.

The Chattogram port has a storage capacity of 53,518 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of import, export and empty containers and its designated import yards can store at best 44,018 TEUs import laden containers.

At 8am today, the import yards were choked with 40,038 TEUs of containers, exceeding 91 percent of the capacity.

But only seven days ago on June 15, the figure stood at its normal level of 26,007 TEUs.

Port data shows, 3,700 TEUs of import containers on an average were unloaded from ships every day in last seven days.

Container delivery was slow during the holidays but unloading of import containers from ships went on in full swing, except facing a drop on Eid day, said Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association Chairman Syed Md Arif.

The port usually sees delivery of over 4,500 TEUs of import containers in any working day whereas businesses took delivery of 2,239 TEUs on June 15 and only 389 TEUs on June 16.

Not a single import container was released in the next two days for Eid-ul-Azha holiday.

Delivery began again on June 19 with the release of 1,000 TEUs, which increased to 4,578 TEUs the next day.

But, again, delivery slowed to a great extent in the next two days for the beginning of the weekend on June 21.

To avoid such congestion, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) sat with the stakeholders and sent letters to different business associations, including Chittagong Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, much ahead of the festival requesting all to keep taking delivery of the containers during Eid holidays and in the following weekend.

The port saw poor delivery of containers until today, as most factories are yet to be opened, CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk said.

He hoped the delivery would increase from tomorrow with the opening of the industrial units.